Bithumb Launching Kiosks at Restaurants for Food Orders and Crypto Payments in Korea

Korean crypto exchange Bithumb is entering the retail kiosk business to accelerate crypto adoption in the country. These order-taking and payment facilitating kiosks will be placed in restaurants and cafes for customers to browse menus, place orders and pay for food. Cryptocurrency will be among the payment options.

Bithumb’s New Venture

One of South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Bithumb, announced on Wednesday that it is introducing the “Touch B” brand and entering into the kiosk business. Describing a kiosk as an unmanned order and payment system, Yonhap elaborated:

Bithumb has agreed to supply kiosks to food and beverage franchise stores, small restaurants, and cafes under the brand Touch B, in partnership with kiosk manufacturers.

“The entry into the kiosk business is meaningful to provide substantial benefits and low-cost rents to small business owners,” Bithumb was quoted by Zdnet Korea. “We will continue to work in various industries based on the blockchain technology…to provide total solutions for small businesses through our partnership.”

The Kiosk Culture in Korea

Tros Systems’ kiosks for food ordering.

In South Korea, ordering food using kiosks is popular. Bithumb partnered with several kiosk manufacturers in February including Unos Pay, Tros Systems, and I’m U “to supply kiosks optimized for small businesses that operate food and beverage franchises, small restaurants, and cafes,” the publication detailed.

Furthermore, the exchange plans to charge a rental fee that is 10% below the industry rate for kiosks. “This will help SMEs [small and medium-sized enterprises] reduce costs, increase sales and provide efficient store operations,” the publication described, adding that:

The kiosk is a multimedia device that combines touch screen, graphics and communication functions. It is an unmanned information guidance system that provides efficient information to users…and simplified payment.

Mcdonald’s kiosks in South Korea.

Bithumb also plans for the kiosks to take cryptocurrency as one of the payment options. The exchange believes that the kiosk business will create a synergy among all of its offerings.

What do you think of Bithumb’s kiosk business? Let us know in the comments section below.